Whilst the River Trent is without doubt, the undisputed king of rivers for a double figure barbel, if you’re after a British Record, the River Thames is probably one of your best bet, judging by this 20lb 12oz fish landed by Mike Perrin.
The fish is just a few ounces shy of the current British best and adds weight to the belief of those that reckon the record will go again at the end of the season. Having spent summer targeting river’s carp, Mike turned his attention to its barbel as the temperatures dropped. Fishing an 18mm dumbbell tipped with a pink 12mm pop-up on a snowman rig, he fed a mixture of 10mm pellet and chilli hemp over which he presented his rig.